Hierarchy (Universe At War)
The Hierarchy is an intergalactic alien empire whose mining force serves as the initial alien invaders in the first installment of the Universe at War series. History The original Hierarchy race was saved by the Masari from inevitable extinction over ten millenia ago when they were given the technology needed to survive. However, the Hierarchy ancestors showed zero kindness for their saviors and turned against the Masari, wiping out all but one city ship. The Hierarchy, then, went on to become the dominating force in the galaxy, invading countless other planets in the universe and exterminating the inhabiting races, such as the creators of Novus and the Skinwalkers. At the beginning of Earth Assault, the Hierarchy invades Earth with the intent to strip-mine the entire planet of valuable resources, including organic life. Initially, the Hierarchy crushes the human resistance, but the underseer of the mining fleet (Kamal Re'x) delays standard procedure of "Purifying" the planet in order to set a trap for Novus, who follow the Hierarchy fleets to cause as much mayhem as possible to their harvesting operations. As predicted, Novus soon arrived and began to cause trouble around the globe. Eventually, Novus managed to force their way into a Hierarchy Material Uplink teleportation system and teleport their field commander, Mirabel to one of their command ships. However, it is soon revealed that Kamal Re'x had allowed this and had arranged for the ship to self-destruct with the intent of taking Mirabel out with it. Meanwhile on the planet's surface, Kamal had sent a massive invasion force to the Middle East to assault the global headquarters of Novus, but unfortuneately Mirabel managed to escape the demise planned for her and alerted the Founder of the impending assault. Despite an overwelming force of 2 Assembly Walkers, 2 Habitat Walkers, 3 Science Walker's fitted with Radiation Cascade generators, and an army of Grunts and Defilers Novus managed to defend their base. As the last Walker collapsed, it launched a plasma blast which managed to destabalize the Novus Home Portal, causing the Founder to sacrifice himself to save the planets on both ends. After this costly victory, Kamal Re'x personally examined the graveyard of machines while plotting the final demise of the Hierarchy's greatest foe. He then tasked his commander to prepare for the Purification of the planet. Play style ' The Hierarchy takes on the role of a powerhouse faction in ''Earth Assault. Their basic tactic consists of straight forward assaults and sieges with Walkers, tough units, and additional reinforcments built right into the fight. They apply extreme pressure on the offensive to keep opponents reacting to the onslaught of their forces. Rather than build structures to build units, the Hierarchy instead drops giant walkers equipped with teleportation systems that allow Hardpoints to be built on the walker's frame (modifying their capabilities) and bring down troops from orbiting ships. This allows for great versatility as a walker can fitted for assault(with weapon, rate of fire, and range enhancement hard points), production (with unit "Pods", cost reduction and build speed hardpoints), siege (Beam Cannons or Radiation Artillery), even superweapons (Cascade Reactors/Radiation Cascade) or any combination of these. Most Hierarchy units are designed with the intention of escorting the walkers into battle rather than fighting alone and most of them have some sort of area of effect to their attack (for example, the Hierarchy Grunt is armed with a plasma shotgun that can hit multiple foes per attack). The Hierarchy also make heavy use of Radiation Weapons, Phasing Abilities, and Mind-Control Technology. 'Heroes ' '''Kamal Re'x is an extremely ambitious being and desires great power, both political and physical. Kamal is ruthless when concerned with increasing his rank within the Hierarchy, earning his unusual title from his habit of making political enemies "disappear". He apparently used this "talent" many times against those who have stood in his way during his rise in the ranks of the Hierarchy. Unlike Commander Orlok, Kamal views his troops as existing only for the expansion of the Hierarchy and, therefore, deems them fully expendable. Kamal views the Hierarchy's extermination of other races as merely "thinning the herd" and showed no regret for his race's actions. [2] At the time of the earth invasion, Kamal Re'x was long past his normal lifespan, thanks to long periods in suspended animation [3], but thanks to his age he had advanced his mind to the point of clairvoyance and he possessed the ability to wield various psychic attacks and speak via telepathy. Many years prior to Earth Assault, Orlok '''was mortally wounded in a fierce battle against a particularly difficult enemy. The Hierarchy Overseers realized that if he died morale would be crushed, so they burned Orlok's consciousness into an armored battle platform. Orlok embraced this honor and led his troops to victory. On earth, he was the chief of the security forces of Kamal Re'x'smining fleet. The numerous battles Orlok has fought have altered his view of the Hierarchy's conquests. Unlike the others, he has become aware of the immorality in the Hierarchy's conquests and feels shame for what his race has done. In addition, he shows disgust for the Overseers and Kamal's use of soldiers as tools of ambition. '''Nufai '''serves as the Stealth hero of the Hierarchy and is unlocked with the Mutagen Research Branch. Nufai has many different attacks that make him very useful in countering just about any unit class. Against infantry, heroes, and structures, Nufai will slash with his claws. Against vehicles, he will dash up at faster-than-normal speeds and jab his claws into it while phasing himself, rendering him invulnerable and the vehicle non-functional.Nufai's abilities are both manipulative and powerful when used correctly. His first ability, '''Paranoia, causes enemy units around Nufai to break off and fight one another, making a useful distraction and possible causing serious damage, making this usell at choke points and big enemies armies. Nufai's second ability is Tendrils, which sends dark energy snaking upwards to instantly grab nearby aircraft and drag them to the ground where fellow units may fire on them and Nufai may leap into. Both abilities will continue to work while Nufai runs about. Units The monolith is a Hierarchyscouting unit. It can see through stealth. It flies slowly over short distances, but travels long distances by teleporting. It can teleport to areas under the fog of war. Its sight range is small, but increases in stages when stationary. Visual range increases after 5 seconds, then 7 seconds after that. It fires a constant radiation beam which degrade the functions of its target, slowing unit production by 10% and reducing turret range by half. It can attack ground and air. It is excellent against aircraft, good against infantry, and poor against heavy vehicles and Walkers. Grunts are genetically modified to survive in any environment [1] and perhaps as a result tower over all other basic infantry. Each Grunt carries a massive plasma shotgun on their right arm and are capable of "bashing" other infantry with it when in proximity. Like the other Hierarchy infantry, Grunts have three fingers and toes as well as gray skin. Unlike other alien infantry, Grunts have near-full body armor complete with sensors, rebreathers and life support systems built into it [2]. Grunts seem to enjoy combat, as they will laugh or chuckle when ordered to attack. When not in combat, Grunts stretch their limbs, toy with their cannon, or gaze about.Despite being quite powerful, Grunts are considered expendable by Kamal Re'x and are frequently sent on suicide missions or told to fight to the very last soldier. At least one Grunt seemed to resent this, asking Orlokwhy they are the first to die in missions. Resembling the stereotypical "Grey" alien, the tiny Lost One has a massive head, glowing eyes, and hunched body with spindly limbs and claws. Attached to the body is a large collar and, like the other Hierarchy aliens, Lost One's possess three fingers and toes. Lost Ones are apparently insane, given both their in game discription and habit of chuckling/giggling when told to attack. Lost One's are also apparently expendable, since even the casualty-conscious Orlokused them as suicide units against Novus blackhole crates. Even in the last Hierarchy missions , Orlok didn't mention their names during the initial speech with his troops. Even more mutated than the Alien Grunt, Brutes'have incredible strength and endurance. The Brute shares certain features with other Hierarchy infantry, such as glowing eyes, stooped posture, three digits on each limb, and gray skin. Unlike the other troops, Brutes have an extended jaw lined with razer-sharp teeth, wear no armor or cuffs, and possess far more muscle mass. Brutes use this raw strength to pound enemies into a pulp and to leap incredibly long distances. The Brute's hide is extremely tough and able to ward off blasts from turrets and even light anti-infantry rounds as mere annoyances, though sustained fire will eventually break through.Perhaps due to their extensive mutations, Brutes are unable to speak a proper language and can only produce growls, shrieks, and roars, though they apparently can still understand language As their name suggests, '''Saucers'are disk shaped-craft with three notches along their sides that allow for Plasma Orbs (or "Foo fighters" as they are referred to in the XML files) to be held until needed for attack. On the underside of the craft is a bulge that likely contains the vehicle's guidance systems as well as a beam-device that repairs damaged bridges for Hierarchy ground forces to get though.Like several other Hierarchy vehicles, Saucers appear to be fully automated and do not appear to have pilots. '''Defilers appear as extremely spindly tripods consisting of a thin, cylinder-like body and a much larger crescent-shaped head attached to it. At the base of the Defiler's head is a glowing orb from which the Defiler projects it's irradiated plasma beam. Attached to the crescent is a horseshoe-shaped structure ending in silver nozzles. These nozzles release the Defiler's mutagenic radiation [1] into the surrounding environment, corrupting and mutating non-Hierarchy organics and promoting tissue regeneration in Hierarchy aliens (such as Grunts or Lost Ones). If a human or Masari dies from this radiation, their body will undergo horrendous mutations and they will be resurrected as Mutant Slaves. [2]Defilers produce slurping, gurgling sounds when selected, suggesting that they may have something piloting them, unlike the other Hierarchy ground vehicles. On the other hand, it may just be toxic waste sloshing about.[3]. Mutant Slaves slightly resemble walking corpses, with rotting flesh, radiation-filled sacks,and certain body parts missing. The amount of damage varies between slaves, with some being more or less intact while others are missing such things as their lower jaw and guts. Slaves come in two variations: Human/Masari Mutants and Mutant Cows. When a Human or Masari dies from radiation contamination, the mutant resembles a skeletal humanoid with glowing, puss-filled sacks, missing teeth, glowing red eyes, and exposed organs. The zombies moan and wheeze as they move, suggesting that their barely alive bodies are in extreme agony. After a certain amount of time or if they take too much damage, the mutant's body will implode and shower the area with rotten remains.Human/Masari mutants are best used against turrets or other organics, since their clawing is unable to be redirected and their death explosion is quite powerful. Generally a result of losing a Reaper Drone equipped with Volatile Reactors while harvesting cattle, Mutant Cows do not suffer the degenerative effect that their humanoid counterparts have and deal more damage with their ramming attack. Mutant Cows are able to crush light infantry such as Ohm Robots by charging them and are slightly more resilient than the humanoid slaves. Phase Tanks are a half-saucer shaped craft with a single plasma cannon mounted on the tank's underside. On the top of the tank is what appears to be a lone optical sensor built into the vehicle's "head". Like its Novus counterparts, Phase Tanks are able to traverse almost any terrain and cross deep water with no difficulties. Unlike the lesser vehicles of Novus, Phase Tanks possess far more lone firepower and more armor. In addition, each Phase Tank is equipped with a phasing generator by default (Unlike other Hierarchy Units), allowing them to pass through solid objects (such as enemy structures) and rendering them immune to any sort of damage. Structural Walkers For all intents and purposes, the Reaper Drone is a mobile teleporter for breaking down materials (organic or not) and beaming them up to orbiting supply ships. Each Reaper Drone possesses a limited AI that will allow it to wander about on it's own to collect resources, but it is not intelligent enough to distinguish between valuable, easy to break down resources (such as cows) or more difficult to break down objects such as scrap metal or structures. The Reaper Drones beam may also be used as a light anti-ground weapon, dealing damage over time and eventually sucking the object into the Reaper to be teleported to the command ship. Unlike Novus and the Masari, whose resource collectors are stationary, the Hierarchy's Reaper Drones are able to wander about the map, collecting raw materials from Civilian Structures, vehicles, and even civiliansthemselves. Detection Drones enable radar and have a scan pulse ability that dispels the fog of war in the targeted area and cleanses effects from units such as viruses or Phase. They are unarmed, but can trample some enemy infantry units. The towering Habitat Walker'''has four long, but bulky legs that it uses for movement and six plasma cannon barrels arranged in a triangular pattern on either side of its "head". The walkers head contains teleport systems for calling down Hierarchy infantry, which are beamed down to the ground from a glowing circle on the walker's "face". The Walker's upper body is somewhat shaped like a lopsided hexagon and has exactly four crown hardpoint sockets and a pair of giant coolant vents that appear somewhat like horns. The sheer size of the Walker allows it to destroy most ground units and buildings by simply stepping on them with its legs. The walker is also truly "all terrain", able to climb cliffs and mountains or wade through lakes. Like all of the large Hierarchy Walkers, the Habitat Walker can not be destroyed by simply attacking it. Rather, enemies must destroy its crown hardpoints to expose the walker's coolant nodes. If one node is destroyed, the Habitat Walker's two emergency cooling vents activate and start venting heated gases with a mechanical wail. If two coolant nodes are destroyed, the walker's core will overheat and detonate. Like the Habitat Walker, the '''Assembly Walker is a massive, quadruped walker armed with plasma cannons and a teleportion system. The Walker's upper body features two large arms on either side of the main body and a giant teleport device on it's back. At the front of the Assembly Walker is a large dish-like structure that serves as the exit-point for units to teleport to the ground (or air in the case of Saucers). The Assembly Walker's six anti-ground plasma cannon barrels are mounted around this dish.Like the other large Hierarchy walkers, the Assembly Walker can crush almost anything in its path and traverse nearly any terrain, including cliffs. Unique for the larger Hierarchy Walkers, the Science walker has no teleportation systems and has a tripodal leg configuration. The Science Walker's three "horn" hardpoint sockets each contain a directed Radiation Beam weapon and a shield generator. The Walker's core is exposed and requires no "death puzzle" to destroy, but instead it is protected by an energy field that regenerates at a continuous rate as long as at least one horn socket is intact.Like the other large walkers, the Science Walker can crush almost anything under its legs and climb over cliffs and craters with ease. Category:Enemy Faction Category:Ancient Faction